1891.49.66

Collection type

Object

Description

Horn scoop, wide at one end and narrowing at the other, with small perforation by the handle. [CAK 19/04/2010]

Long description

Horn scoop, wide at one end and narrowing at the other, with small perforation by the handle. The vessel is made from a single piece of horn that has been steamed and moulded into shape. One end of the vessel is wider and flatter, with a gradual curve. The rim is bevelled along the sides and the wide end. The other end seems to form a handle, as it extends higher, becomes narrow, and may be carved on the outside with a figure. There is a small perforation in the handle. The horn is smooth, a dark brown colour, and the grain of the horn is visible. [CAK 19/04/2010]

Geographical reference

Canada

Northern America > North America > Canada

British Columbia Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) NW Coast

Cultural groups

Haida

Person

Field collector Charles Harrison

PRM source Charles Harrison

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1882-1890

Date collected

Between 1882 and 1890 ?

Acquisition information

Purchased: 02/03/1891

Materials and processes

Material Sheep Horn Animal, Process Steamed, Process Moulded, Process Carved, Process Perforated

Dimensions

Width: max 129 mm, Depth: max 110 mm, Length: max 205 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1891.49.66

Research and responses

The following information comes from Haida delegates who worked with the museum’s collection in September 2009 as part of the project “Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge”:

This dish was viewed alongside other horn and wood vessels on Wednesday Sept 9, 2009. There are similarities between this vessel and 1891.49.63-.65, .69. Lucille Bell observed that the holes in these dishes may function in the same way as the holes in the handles of spoons, along the dishes to be hung on a wall when not in use. Diane Brown wondered if the hole in the dish indicated where a rivet would have been, and that the dish was actually a spoon missing its handle. Gwaai Edenshaw offered that rivets were used after something had been broken, and that originally they would have been one piece. Delegates wondered if these scoop-shaped horn vessels were used for drinking out of. Vern Williams noted that it could be used to take water in particular. Kwiaahwah Jones thought it was a drinking vessel used for soup, and she drew comparisons with Florence Edenshaw Davidson's biography (written by Margaret Blackman called 'During my Time') in which Florence describes drinking vessels and soup vessels and that each person would have had their own ladle or spoon that they would bring to feasts. Gaahlaay (Lonnie Young) also thought that this was more likely to be a scoop than a grease dish. [CAK 19/04/2010]

Although listed as a dish, this object may be the ladle of a spoon given its overall shape, lack of flat bottom, and slightly extended curved end where a handle may be attached. [CAK 05/05/2009]

Search terms: Food and Drink, Figure, Vessel, Food Accessory, Bowl, Spoon